Professor Dustin Cowell became the new chair of the Department of African Languages and Literature in May 2009. Cowell specializes in Arabic poetry and classical Arabic grammar, with a particular interest in the literature of Islamic Spain (al-Andalus) and lyrical poetry in the contemporary Arabic dialect of Mauritania (Hassaniyya).
As a result of his experience teaching Arabic at the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization in Kuala Lumpur (1994-96), his interests extended to the role of Arabic in Malay language and literature, as well as its role within the Islamic educational institutions in both Malaysia and Indonesia. This summer, Cowell will also serve as the Arabic language director of the UW-Madison Arabic and Persian Immersion Program.